Mines Over Matter

Beneath the battlelines of the political crisis is a murky arena where party lines blur in the fight for control of the state's resources.

advertisement

STEPHEN DAVID

Bhavna Vij-Aurora

October 16, 2010

ISSUE DATE: October 25, 2010

UPDATED: October 27, 2010 13:20 IST

Every cash-rich lobby breeds its nemesis: the mining millionaires who kept the BJP Government afloat, the famous Reddy brothers, were challenged by the Baldota family and the Lad brothers in a power struggle that dragged politics towards depravity. Names of the Baldotas backing JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and the Lad brothers supporting the Congress were doing the rounds. Only the amount differed in various versions-ranging from Rs 20 crore to Rs 30 crore. "Our MLAs and the Independents supporting us were wooed with Rs 30 crore each. Despite taking the money, they were negotiating with us. They wanted us to return the money on their behalf and give at least four ministerial berths to the rebels,'' disclosed a senior BJP leader.

The rebellion against Yeddyurappa began in July.

The party could have well afforded it with the Reddy brothers, Janardhana and Karunakara, backing them. "But we did not want to give in to blackmail and pressure. This time we were not willing to make a compromise. We had learnt our lesson from Jharkhand. We were ready to lose the government in Karnataka but were determined not to give in to the blackmail,'' the Central BJP leader explained.

The Congress, too, got nervous, guarding its MLAs like a hawk amid speculation that the bjp was trying to lure some of their 73 legislators after the high court allowed the five Independents to vote in the trust motion. The asking rate for support touched Rs 50 crore on the eve of the trust vote. Cash and favours flowed as MLAs and ministers were tempted with offers and counter-offers.

While the money flowed from the iron ores, it was former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda's son Kumaraswamy who was publicly directing the drama. Anti-Reddy mining lords like Congress Rajya Sabha MP Anil Lad-whose family has been in the business for three generations-had earlier openly supported Kumaraswamy. The Lad brothers also bankrolled the Congress's July 25-August 9 Bangalore-Bellary anti-government padyatra. Lad, a Bell copter-owning mining magnate, was credited with arranging a meeting between Kumaraswamy and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, something he has never admitted in public.

Although the first overt sign of rebellion against Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa came early this month, its genesis was the July 2010 ban on export of iron ore from the state. The first to hit back at the BJP Government's ban was Congressman and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah who claimed hundreds of truck loads of iron ore and other minerals were being shipped out from ports in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. However, when Independent minister Goolihatti Shekhar was dropped from the Cabinet, the anti-Yeddyurappa movement gained full steam. Shekhar is believed to be close to Kumaraswamy.

However, there was another interesting aspect to the rebellion which the BJP tried to downplay. General Secretary Ananth Kumar, in the good books of the Reddy brothers, played an active role in engineering the attempt to topple the Yeddyurappa Government. Kumar, who wields considerable influence in the state, was not happy with the chief minister rejigging his Cabinet.

The BJP leadership at the Centre was determined not to give in to blackmail and pressure even if it meant losing the government in Karnataka.

Ironically, when the crisis spiralled out of control, BJP President Nitin Gadkari had to persuade Kumar to help diffuse it. "The adhyakshji (president) told Ananth Kumar that the party is in trouble, and we need you. He could not refuse and was then involved in the entire negotiation process,'' another party leader said.

According to BJP sources, Kumar and Yeddyurappa could never see eye to eye. Kumar himself harboured ambitions of becoming the chief minister. Three years ago, he was the main link between the Gowdas and the BJP, an equation that he used against Yeddyurappa this time. It is also believed that he also played a role in the November 2009 Reddy brothers-led rebellion, which brought the Yeddyurappa government to its knees.

In fact, Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj talked about the episode to reiterate that he had been fair to the chief minister and not motivated in calling for a second trust vote. Referring to the "hijack" of 50 MLAs by the Reddy brothers last year, he said, "The chief minister was in tears then. I had sympathy for him. I have fully cooperated with him on all matters.'' The Reddys were given Cabinet berths and it was never a secret that they enjoyed considerable control over state policies.

For the time being, it seems that the BJP Government is safe. The Reddys have displayed their political astuteness and business acumen time and again. By engineering Operation Topple, their rivals had wanted to remove their stranglehold from the state. But the Reddys have yet again proved to be the state's undisputed bosses.

Get real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. Download from